Posted on 04/27/2003 10:00:59 AM PDT by CathyRyan
Five Toronto-area nurses have fallen victim to SARS burnout and quit their jobs because of stress and working conditions.
The revelation by Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, came on the same day that the 77-year-old husband of a health-care worker died of SARS, bringing the GTA death toll to 20.
Dr. Donald Low, an infectious disease expert at Mount Sinai Hospital, said the latest victim died in Toronto East General Hospital. He said the man contracted the disease from his wife, a health-care worker who is in critical condition after caring for a SARS patient at a Toronto-area hospital.
Some nurses are finding the mental and physical hardships of working long hours in hospitals battling SARS simply too much, Grinspun said.
"Nurses are heroes, but they are human beings after all," said Grinspun.
Unless the province does something quickly to alleviate the pressure the full-time nurses are feeling, Grinspun predicts more will resign. "We've been saying for the past two weeks that things are getting worse," she said.
The total number of severe acute respiratory syndrome cases in the Toronto area has risen slightly to 269 probable and suspect cases of SARS, an increase of four from the previous day.
The outbreak has taken its toll on many health-care workers in the Greater Toronto Area. The transmission of the virus to hospital staff has been difficult for infectious disease experts to control and many of the SARS cases have been health-care workers.
Hospital transmission has been such a problem that public health authorities have asked the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health Canada, to conduct an investigation of the issue.
Already, anyone caring for SARS patients must wear double gloves, double gowns, a protective mask and full face shield to prevent contact with any body fluid from an infected person.
While the equipment is for the protection of workers, it is also hot and awkward. Some nurses complain of getting rashes and allergies from the gear, Grinspun said. She is calling for every nurse working in these conditions to get a 10-minute break on the hour just to breathe and relax. Full-time nurses' daily shifts are usually 12 hours long.
One nurse who contacted the Star, but who wished to remain anonymous, said she and the nurses she works with feel frightened about having to work on a SARS isolation unit. The 42-year-old nurse says the protective gear is very hot and frustrating to wear, and she's not sure if it's enough to stop the spread of the illness.
Low said despite news of the latest victim, he believes the worst of the epidemic is over. "I think these deaths are unfortunate but not unexpected. These patients have been in intensive care for several weeks on ventilators," he said last night. "We continue to see the number of cases decrease."
Some Canadian officials are holding out hope that the World Health Organization's travel advisory to Toronto could be lifted on Tuesday when senior WHO authorities review data supplied to them by Health Canada.
The advisory has dealt a stunning blow to Toronto's tourism industry.
Besides big picture economic costs, the strain of fighting the virus inside an already stressed-out Ontario hospital system is taking its toll on workers.
Grinspun's association argues that cuts associated with the province's restructuring in the mid-1990s can be blamed for nurses feeling stressed out and unable to cope with the current situation. During that time, many full-time nursing positions were eliminated. With few full-time positions available, nurses find themselves working at two or three part-time jobs to make ends meet, Grinspun said.
"We went into the SARS outbreak in compromised shape," she said.
With files from Cynthia Lee
Maybe they should try more socialized medicine.
Canada's public health system is typical socialist smoke and mirrors. Covered up by a typical deceitful liberal media.
The corrupt Ottawa health care ministry's bureaucratic response? Shoot the messenger. Denounce the WHO at exposing the failed Canadian health care system.
Mark Steyn reports on why SARS spreads in the socialist medical paradise: falsifed death certificates, horrific nursing care, patients with 102 temps left on ER guerneys for 24 hours exposing hundreds, etc. Steyn says Canadian hospitals offer a level of care similar to hospitals in the Congo.
Canada's public health system is typical socialist smoke and mirrors. Covered up by a typical deceitful liberal media.
The corrupt Ottawa health care ministry's bureaucratic response? Shoot the messenger. Denounce the WHO at exposing the failed Canadian health care system.
Mark Steyn reports on why SARS spreads in the socialist medical paradise: falsifed death certificates, horrific nursing care, patients with 102 temps left on ER guerneys for 24 hours exposing hundreds, etc. Steyn says Canadian hospitals offer a level of care similar to hospitals in the Congo.
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